Be alert to Pirates threat — Sheridan

JOHN SHERIDAN has warned his players to be on their guard against mid-table Bristol Rovers in tonight’s Coca-Cola League One fixture at Boundary Park.

The Athletic manager is mindful that the Pirates have plundered wins in all three of their league meetings since he took charge.

Sheridan is also anxious his players concentrate on the visitors from the West Country before they turn their attention to seemingly more glamorous games in the next few days.

He explained: “The game against Bristol Rovers will be as hard as playing Millwall and Leeds, who come up quickly after tonight.”

Although inconsistent, Rovers have proved a match for anybody on their day.

They have won at Colchester, Leyton Orient and Scunthorpe and, significantly, two of those successes have been earned in their last three trips away from home.

Rovers have also drawn at Brighton, Leeds, Yeovil, Huddersfield, Hartlepool and Northampton, while they were involved in one of the most entertaining games of the campaign at Peterborough, where they lost 5-4.

Athletic were held to a 2-2 draw at Yeovil on Saturday, and Sheridan says his side must avoid defeat as they seek to strengthen their hold on a top-six spot.

With Rovers boasting one of the top marksmen in the lower divisions, Sheridan knows his side will have to defend more resolutely than they did at Huish Park.

Ricky Lambert has scored 21 league goals for the Pirates this season, not a bad return for a man who started his career in midfield.

He was switched to attack while at Rochdale and has never looked back since.

He should have made it 22 goals on Saturday, but he missed a penalty in the 1-0 defeat by leaders Leicester City, when ace marksman Matty Fryatt was the match-winner for the Foxes.

While League One’s leading sharp-shooters went head to head last weekend, tonight will see Lambert up against the vastly-experienced Dean Windass.

And the 39-year-old has pleasant memories of playing against Rovers. Windass was in a Hull City shirt when he scored a hat-trick against them at Boothferry Park in September 1993.

Athletic could do with some more magic from Windass, who has found the net just once in his eight appearances since arriving at Boundary Park on loan.